


Tender

by fiammy



Series: Gift Writing and Other Works [3]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Cross-Post, F/M, Family, Gift Fic, Pregnancy, TYL, but either way i'd hate to lose this one, or technically, reupload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 03:34:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19348669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiammy/pseuds/fiammy
Summary: Hibari shares some late-night thoughts and some deeper feelings.---[Reupload - Written for KHR! Secret Santa 2017. It's old, but I think people would still enjoy it, so here it is.]





	Tender

How shallow could a person breathe without risking oxygen deprivation?

Hibari listened carefully for even the smallest indication of disturbance as his chest barely, slowly, moved back and forth towards Chrome’s own while she slept on her back, in his embrace. Nothing. And yet, being a cautious man, there had to be preventative measures to anything… And he didn’t want her to be awake for this. A selfish desire, only to preserve himself from extreme embarrassment. He closed his eyes as a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him; better hurry up, then.

He carefully began to move himself down, hesitated, then continued again, stopping when he reached her abdomen— she shifted, and he panicked briefly, before relaxing when she laid her hand on the warm yet empty pillow his head was on a moment. He wasn’t being gentle enough, clearly, so at this point he made sure his voice was barely above a whisper.

“…Hey,” Hibari began, awkwardly, casually, but willed himself to continue as he pressed his ear feather-light against Chrome’s body. “It’s me again.”

No response, save for the roar of blood in his ears. He continued anyway.

“Still can’t really believe you’re here. You’re… almost out of the danger zone—” Even just saying it made him tense, fearing to will the horrible event into reality if he even thought about it once; as a result he frowns. “…So no funny business from you. Or I’ll bite you to death.” But would he? Could he bear to do that?

Never, actually. But threatening people was a bad habit.

As if to better connect himself, he laid his hand gently on Chrome’s abdomen, on the places he remembered her placing her own hands on—a futile effort, because it’d be far too long before  _he_  could feel anything, and yet he’d keep trying anyway. He didn’t want to miss that first, definite moment when it really happened.

“…I really want to see you. And want you to see your mother.” He’s not one to describe his heart as the kind to melt, but it definitely warms at the image. “I want you… to see how much I love her. And how much she’ll love you.” If there wasn’t a more perfect time to hear even the slightest movement or heartbeat, it would have been perfect. But he didn’t, and he could live with it. Gripping the side of Chrome’s nightdress, he spoke again with a fierce determination.

“I want you to know I’ll always protect you. Both of you.”

And he meant it.

It slowly becomes unclear how long he’s talking for. He didn’t notice himself falling asleep, a safe distance from doing any harm, and yet close enough. He didn’t notice Chrome cautiously looking up at him to confirm this, and smiling gently with both happiness and surprise that he hadn’t noticed she was awake the whole time. He didn’t register her lacing her fingers into his hair and yet sighed in content anyway.

Most of the time, it was hard to figure out what Hibari really felt, even after being with him this long.

But she was content with the fact that he was capable of having that strong a will weaved into their relationship. And Hibari wasn’t a man who said anything without meaning it.

So if it wasn’t clear to her before, she was in good hands. The best she could ask for.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is an older fic that I wrote for KHR! Secret Santa 2017. The person I wrote this for requested some 1896 fluff, and so I went for this. Hibari's a character I enjoy writing so it warmed my heart to write him like this <3
> 
> At the time of writing this (June 2019), I'm recovering from surgery and can't write as fast as I'd like, so I was looking through some older writings I made both for nostalgia and to encourage myself. I've actually lost a lot of my old writing, be it to my old laptop getting wiped, deleting things impulsively off tumblr, or some other reason. So to try and prevent that, I'll upload some of the better things I wrote in the past here. It's not like they got much exposure on tumblr, so my account here is a better forever home. I know a lot of people are waiting for my longer work updated, and I will say I'm working as hard as I can!
> 
> For now, I hope you enjoyed it. Kudos, comments and sharing as well as all of your support is always appreciated.


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